The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1887-06-17

p.~ss sn.~,.s nat 50 - Noe IN -
s~nsea wsmss r. shs seass % To-Day
She did not spell well. and her gram.
mar would hardly stand the parsirg Of
shc public schools Copies q two d
her letters 10 her sister. Mrs. Bassett.
IL before me. They were written 1t
about the beginning a the revolution
She begins one thus; Il have wrote
70 you several times. IN hopes Il would
put you in mind o. me, but find Il
has not had iis intended effect"
Further on she adds: ''Thc rivers has
never been frozen hard enough 20
walk upon the ice since came here"
Among the misspelt words Of the letter
are. '.Navey" for navy. ''loded" for
loaded. .-coles- for Goals. distant
Tor destined. .clerc" for clear.
..hcare" for here. ''plesed'' for pleased.
and ..greatful' for grateful Com
pany she spells ''companey." and per
suaLed '.perswaded."
In the fac-simile u letter that she
wrote 20 William Il. Reed. Of New
York. in 1777. see that she knew no
other punctuation mark than the dash.
that the apostrophc was a stranger 10
her. and that her writing. though not
ilIeciblc. was far from beautiful or ele-
CANT The use Of the capital was a
embarrassing 10 her a the use II the
punctuation point. and her letters look
a. though the capitals had been shaken
out Of a mammoth pepper-box and per
mitted 10 lie wherever they fell.
One II her letters, commencing s.My
dear Fanny" was lately communicated
bv Rev. H. T. Hayden. Of Pennsylvania
10 the Magazine Of American History
II Is dated mount Vernon. Aug 7
i7sI." and the verbatim spelling ans
punctuation are preserved in the publ
cation Some d the sentences begil
with capitals and some without Sh
writes II MY little nelly" referrin;
probably to Nellie Gusts. and in III
same line says that Tut i the sam
claver (clevcr) boy you left him." thu
capitalizing the boys name. while ii
gives no capital TO that Of the girl Sh
writes Fanny '.that the General had n
eeiyed 4 letter from her papa" dated. 4
..richrs.ond.s begins the next sentcne
with small letter. and in il capitalize
..BrotherS" .Familics" and = GeI
eral--
person uses his best gramm'
xhilr writing. and he who makes mi
r-- - ..,s.s-.. IN ...., ~ - = Z In
Martha Washington may have bee
vel educated In the school ~ $ociel
And III that a life She was certain
not - In books and literature. The
Wa no library 10 speak Of Al Noul
Vernon. and General Washington vi
more II an outdoor man than =
dent. We have no record Of his vi
being a reader. save that she read
chapter in her Bible every mornir
after breakfast She knew nothir
about novels. and the American mont
Il magazine. the great family educat
II the present. was not yet born
Martha Washington had. howevs
the best advantages Of the day. II
whole life was spent among learn
men and bright women. but there i
record left that she was brilliant in !
-ial conversation. and you will read
vain for the reported bon mots
Martha Washington The truth seer
to be that Martha Washington thong
wcman's sphere WAS home, and th
knitting and cooking were more i
portant than writing letters and
knowledge Of French She i said
have been = good business-wcman Al
% have managed the large estate Of
first husband very ably before
handed her share ~ il over 70 Gccr
Washington ~ Cosmopolitan